The Riddle in the Rain
by scarletsmiles
Summary: Set a little while after 6x23. B&B have a new case and their new pregnancy and relationship to deal with.
1. 1: In the Beginning

Brennan turned over, her eyes adjusting to the light that streamed in through the glass door that lead onto the balcony. Beside her, the slumbering mass beneath the sheets that was Seeley Booth reminded her that the previous weeks, and last night's events, had not been a figment of her imagination.

Slipping out of the bed, her bare feet hit the polished wood floor, and she tiptoed towards the illuminated French window.

Out on the balcony, the fresh air was cool on her skin, and the light wind blew her hair back from her face. Her hands rested over her stomach, protecting the child that had just begun to grow from any horrors the day could bring.

She felt alive, for the first time in months. Not just months, but years even. She felt as though there was an awakening deep within her soul – if such a thing existed – that sent shockwaves of vitality coursing through her body.

A pair of strong hands grasped her pyjama-clad hips, and she leant back against Booth's chest. He breathed in the sweet scent of her hair, and chuckled as she turned her head so that their lips were millimetres apart.

It had not been a dream. She was not dreaming. She wasn't inventing this fairytale ending – it was real. There was not longer a quest, no wicked witch to get in the way. It was real.

"Temperance…" Booth whispered.

"Seeley?"

"Don't call me Seeley." Booth grinned at her.

"Don't call me Temperance." She replied, her eyes sparkling with happiness and mirth.

"What're you doing out here?" Booth said, looking up at the magnificent view of the city. "I never knew you had a balcony, Bones, this is pretty cool!"

Brennan smiled at Booth's childish enthusiasm.

"You've never been inside my bedroom before, I didn't expect you to know."

"It's a very fine bedroom, Bones, and this is a very fine view." Booth smiled. "I think I can even see my apartment from here!"  
>"And look, over there, that's the Jeffersonian." She extended a long, pale forearm and pointed towards the glinting glass roof.<p>

The two of them stared for a moment. From here, on the other side of the city, the Jeffersonian was just a glittering building in the distance, but as they watched it, they realised its importance.

There was the place where it had all started. There was the place where every day for almost a decade, they had worked, laughed, loved and lost. Angela and Hodgins had fallen in love there; Booth and Brennan had, of course, formed the most meaningful friendship that had ended up being this wondrous thing. They'd lost Zack there; they'd lost Vincent there. They'd watched Dr. Goodman go and Cam arrive. They'd faced Howard Epps, Gormogon and the Grave Digger from that one building. They had discovered the truth behind Brennan's parents' disappearance, giving her hope and grief in one foul swoop, and reuniting her with family she once thought utterly lost. It was no longer just a series of bricks and pieces of glass, filled with shining metal tables and bleeping instruments; the Jeffersonian was a beacon of hope, a shining light that had never changed.

They had all got so much to be thankful for, Brennan realised. Thankful to whom or what, she did not know, but she knew that they had to be thankful. It could have been any of them that Broadsky hit. They were lucky to be alive, but that did not dispel the dull pain of losing Vincent that gnawed at her insides, which only went away when she was in Booth's arms.

"My cell phone's ringing." Booth said quietly, and released his arms as he turned inside to answer it.

With one last look over her shoulder at the Jeffersonian, ethereal in the morning sun, she turned and followed Booth inside. It was a beautiful day.

* * *

><p>Booth's hand encased Brennan's for a short moment as they walked through the glass doors into the lab, before they parted. Their attitude to romance at work had always been the same; they were professionals at work, and lovers at home. The two only mixed when they couldn't quite control themselves.<p>

"Morning, Dr. Brennan, Booth." Camille Saroyan bustled past them, her arms laden with five large files.

"Dr. Saroyan?" Brennan looked at the files quizzically. "What're they?"  
>"New case. We're looking at a possible serial killer. Seeing as you're the agent in charge of this investigation, Seeley, you can have these." Cam deposited the files in Booth's arms with a grin. "Dr. Brennan, the remains are going to be here in around half an hour. They're bringing them from the cemetery."<p>

"Cemetery?" Booth and Brennan said in unison.

"Yes," Cam said laughing, "The cemetery. We've been asked to reopen a series of murders that were never solved, from seven years ago. It was just before you two started your whole partnership. The case files were meticulous, but there was very little evidence on the bodies. Of course, they didn't have you working the case, Dr. Brennan."

Brennan nodded.

"I suppose that's true." She said.

Booth suppressed a chuckle.

"We'll be in Bones' office, Cam." He said. "Let us know when the bones arrive."

* * *

><p>"Well that's gross." Angela said with a shudder as she inspected the photographs from the case files.<p>

Angela and Brennan sat in the latter's office, their feet propped up on the coffee table, scanning through the five case files Cam had left with Booth, baby Michael fast asleep in his carrier. Booth himself had been sent on a coffee and pastry run, after they'd received the news that there was traffic, and the remains would not arrive for another hour at least.

"How many victims were there, again, Ange?" Brennan asked, as she read through a medical report.

"Six – five different sites of burial. Each was a young woman between nineteen and twenty-three years old. All came from the D.C. area, all came from reasonably well-off families, and none of them lived particularly remarkable lives. Only one was unidentified." Angela read off a sheet.

"It's a typical serial killer." Booth entered the office as he spoke, laden with cups of coffee – decaffeinated for Brennan – and bags full of delectable pastry snacks from the diner.

"Mmm." Brennan made a noise of agreement, but was too busy inspecting an X-ray with her nose millimetres from the film to see Booth's offering of coffee.

"Come on, Bones." Booth said, gently removing the film from her hand and replacing it with a cup of steaming coffee. "Have something to drink, and something to eat, and then you can stare at bone photos all day."

"Booth…" Angela was staring down at an insert in one of the case files as she accepted her cup of coffee. "Did you know that one of the victims worked at the Jeffersonian?"

"What?" Brennan and Booth spoke in unison for the second time that morning.

"Yeah, seriously! She was working in Palaeontology. She was twenty-three, the oldest victim."

"Huh." Booth let out a noise of surprise. "That's a bit closer to home than I'd have liked it to be. What was her name?"

"Allison Esters. She looks so innocent in her photo. She hardly looks like she was out of college."

"Like Zack." Brennan inputted suddenly.

"What?" This time it was Booth and Angela who spoke together.

"Well everyone always said Zack looked younger than he was. And he was innocent."

"Maybe we should just leave Zack out of this, Bones. It's a little different." Booth replied awkwardly.

"I don't see how." Brennan muttered, but accepted the Danish pastry Booth was offering to placate her.

"Allison Esters." Angela had her eyes shut, and was concentrating hard. "Bren, I'm sure we knew this girl. I'm just certain of it, but I don't know how."

"How's about we start with Mr. and Mrs. Esters, then?" Booth said, checking a message on his cell phone. "The bureau says these remains won't be here until this afternoon, they've taken them off the road until the traffic clears. We might as well go and interview the parents."

* * *

><p>Booth watched Brennan out the corner of his eye as they drove along in his SUV. She was sat in contemplative silence, her brow furrowed slightly like it always did when she was concentrating. Booth thought she had never looked more beautiful than she did at the moment, with the sunlight streaming in through the window and illuminating her lovely face, and her hand placed warily over her stomach.<p>

"What're you thinking about, Bones?" Booth said, as they came to a stop at a set of traffic lights.

"The baby." Brennan said quietly, and Booth smiled slightly. Brennan had mellowed slightly over the past few weeks, since that night when she had told him. Her coldness, her rationality, her _imperviousness_ – it had all vanished. She was warmer, more open and more beautiful by the day.

"What about her?"

"Her? Booth, we can't know our baby's sex until our appointment this afternoon. That's _if_ we want to know its sex."

"Well, do we?"  
>"I do." Brennan turned to face Booth. "I don't know about you, though, and normally I thought couples decided things together, don't they?"<p>

Booth chuckled.

"Yes, Bones, they normally do. But we're not exactly a normal couple, so I'll let you decide. I'm happy to know the sex if you are."

"Thank you, Booth. I really would like to know. Then I feel I will have to decide on a name."

"_We_ will have to decide on a name. Have you got any ideas already?" Booth put his foot on the accelerator as the light turned green.

"I know a lot of people name their children after their mothers or fathers, but I don't want to do that. I loved my mother, but naming my future daughter after an on-the-run bank robber who was murdered doesn't sound very nice."

"I'd agree with you on that one, Bones. I'm not really feeling naming it after my parents either."  
>"I'm glad we're in agreement, Booth. I would also like the baby to take your surname."<p>

"You would?" Booth felt a lump rise in his throat and a swell of emotion rise in his chest.

"Yes. I'd also like to name the child, if it is a girl, with one middle name as Angela. It would be important to me."

"Of course. How about you pick one middle name, and I pick the other? Then we'll agree on the first name?"

"Yes," Brennan nodded, "I think that is a nice idea."

"So," Booth said with a cheeky smile, "Any ideas on the name?"

"I do like the name Emma." Brennan said, blushing.

"It's nice." Booth said, suddenly imagining a daughter who looked just like her mother. "Emma Booth. It flows."

"Yes, I think it does." Brennan smiled a satisfied smile, and they pulled into the Esters' house.

* * *

><p>"I'm sorry for the distress this must cause, Mrs. Esters, but we have been asked to re-examine the case. Can you tell me the last time you saw your daughter before her disappearance?"<p>

Brennan and Booth sat in a tastefully decorated living room opposite Pearl Esters. She was a woman who had once been very good looking, but the loss of her daughter had aged her prematurely. While her hair was neatly coiffed and her makeup perfect, there was such sadness in her eyes that Brennan felt sorry for her.

"I last saw Allie on the morning before she disappeared. We had breakfast together, like normal, and we talked about what she was going to do today. She was so excited that morning; she had a presentation at work that she was looking forward to, one of her friends had asked her to be a bridesmaid, she had a date-"

"She hadn't got a boyfriend?" Booth frowned, thinking back to the case file, where there had been no mention of a date.

"No, they were meeting for lunch that day. They'd met at a bar a couple of weeks before, and he'd asked for her number."  
>"Your daughter told you all of this?" Booth asked.<p>

"We were close, Agent Booth, she was my daughter. Allie's father and I had separated the year before. Allie was my everything."

"I know this is difficult, Mrs. Esters. Do you know what this man looked like, or his name?"

"I told the agents everything before. They said the date wasn't important. I never knew his last name, just his first. He was called Adam, and he worked for a coroner. That's how they got talking – he mentioned he'd been looking for a new job at the Jeffersonian. Allie said it was nice to meet someone who was smart, good looking and kind." Mrs. Esters was overcome by sobs, and Brennan laid a hand on her back.

"You know, Dr. Brennan, she wanted to work for you." Mrs. Esters said, wiping her eyes with a handkerchief. "She had done forensic anthropology and palaeontology at college. It was her dream to work for you."

Brennan felt a lump rise in her throat, and she looked at Booth, her eyes imploring him to find the killer of this innocent girl.

"Thank you for your time, Mrs. Esters. We'll see ourselves out. Any more questions we have, we'll be in touch." Booth stood and directed Brennan from the room, giving her waist a comforting squeeze as they left.

* * *

><p>"Ok, Bones, let's take a look at the case files again." Booth had directed Brennan into her office again, and they were sat on the sofa. "There were five victims who were identified, and one who was not. Allison Esters, aged twenty-three. Lorraine Delaney - aged twenty. Jessica Shaft - aged nineteen; she was the youngest victim. Theresa Mason - aged twenty-one. Rebecca Hunter – aged twenty. The last victim was found with the remains of Rebecca Hunter. Too badly damaged, the report says, to ID her."<br>"Booth, I'd like to talk about the baby." Brennan said suddenly, looking at Booth's face.

"Ok, Bones, we can do that." Booth replied carefully. He forgot, sometimes, that she was terrified and excited and happy about the baby all at once.

"Are you certain this is what you want?" Brennan asked tremulously.

Booth counted to ten in his head. He knew that Brennan didn't want to hear an incredulous outburst; she wanted to hear a calm and collected statement, a voice of reason.

"Yes, Bones, I am certain. This is what I have always wanted."

Brennan shuffled up the sofa and leant back against his chest. He wrapped his hands around her still-flat abdomen, and kissed her neck. The blinds were down in her office, and the door was locked. With no bones or bugs or facial reconstructions to keep them busy, Hodgins and Angela had gone out with Wendall to the diner.

"I just wanted to make sure, Booth."

"I know, I know." Booth said soothingly, his hands moving in circles across her stomach. "You're nervous, that's normal. Do you want to talk about baby names again?"

"Yes, please." Brennan replied. Booth had realised earlier that she was calmer when they talked about their baby being real, with a name.

"What other names do you like?"

"So many." Brennan said, and Booth smiled. "I like Madeleine and Jenna too."

"Madeleine's nice. Madeleine's really nice." Booth said. "Maddy for short – Maddy Booth. It sounds good."

"You think?"

"Definitely. And I like Elizabeth for a middle name. Madeleine Elizabeth Angela Booth."

"Her initials would spell MEAB. Children can be very cruel, Booth…"

Booth laughed.

"Ok, Madeleine Angela Elizabeth Booth."

"It doesn't sound right…"

"No, it doesn't. Ok, how about forget about my middle name, we'll just go for Madeleine Angela Booth? It sounds good, don't you think?"

"Yes. Then you can choose the middle name if it's a boy."

"Good plan." Booth stretched a little, and then replaced his hands on her stomach. "So boys' names…"

"Well we can't have anything that clashes with Parker."

"No, I guess we can't. What about Lucas?"  
>"I don't know…"<p>

"Ok. This one's a bit stupid, but just hear me out, ok, Bones?"

"Ok, Booth."

"Jasper. Jasper Booth."

"It's nice. It sounds… masculine. Like Seeley."

"Yuck, Seeley. He's not having my name as a middle name. Jasper… Jasper Daniel Booth? That's quite nice."

"It's alright, yes, Booth, but you can choose the middle name for the boy. It was the deal, remember?" Brennan turned to face Booth.

"I know. I'm just trying things out for size." Booth smiled down at her, and kissed her hard.

* * *

><p><strong>Ok, so I had a MASSIVE fail with this chapter when I first uploaded it - I'm sorry, I'm new on the site and had a bit of a nightmare with how to get everything to work!<br>I really hope you enjoyed this (and sorry again about the fail of an upload the first time round). I'm not sure if I've made Brennan and Booth sound like themselves, because it's rather difficult - I'm English, they're American! I'm trying to make it authentic as possible.  
>So the next chapter... Brennan and Booth find out about whether their baby is a boy or a girl, someone ends up guessing about the pregnancy (and it's not who you think!) and the remains, when they finally arrive, reveal some interesting things about the case.<br>Thank you for reading, and please review! xox **


	2. 2: And then there were Two

"Come on, Bones, you'll get soaked!" Booth splashed his way through the puddle and opened the door of the SUV. "Get in!"  
>Brennan threw herself into the car and shut the door. A couple of minutes before they had left the shelter of the Jeffersonian, the heavens had opened and rain lashed down. It was the first time in weeks that Washington had seen rain – the balmy nights and baking days had given way to this.<p>

"Geez, Bones, it's raining so hard!" Booth threw himself into the driver's seat next to her. "I thought we're supposed to be in a heat wave right now!"  
>Brennan smiled at him, but inside her stomach was twisting and turning as she realised that in a couple of hours, they would know whether they were having a daughter or a son - their daughter, or their son. Brennan grinned wider.<p>

"What're you smiling at?" Booth said coyly, as he started the engine and they rolled out of the parking lot.

"Nothing, Booth, nothing." She replied.

"You ready for this appointment?" Booth asked, as he slowed to allow a mother and child to cross the street.

"No," Brennan smiled, "But I know everything's going to be fine."

"How come?"  
>"Because, Booth, I am with you."<p>

* * *

><p>Later that night, Brennan was stretched out on her stomach under the sheets, as she and Booth listened to the rain. Booth laid kisses on her shoulders, which were covered only by the small straps of her vest top.<p>

"Seeley." Brennan smiled, and nestled into the warmth of Booth's chest. He only ever allowed her to call him Seeley when they were alone, in the confines of their bedroom.

"Yes, Tempe?"

"Are you happy?" She whispered, her breath tickling his chest.

"Yes, I am. I am utterly and completely and totally happy."

"Good." Brennan lay on her back, and her hand moved instinctively to her stomach.

"I can't believe it, Bones, I really can't." Booth had not stopped grinning since their appointment at the doctor's that afternoon. "Twins! We're having twins!"

Brennan laughed.

"It's not exactly what I had expected-"

"We'll manage, Bones, we'll be fine. Sure, we're going to have one more kid than we expected running around here, but that's fine! And it's one boy and one girl – perfect!"

"I know, Seeley." Brennan felt a flutter of excitement in her chest as she heard him describe it as perfect.

"And I want to tell people." Booth added. "As soon as possible, I want to tell people."

"You're sure?"

"Certain." Booth whispered into her ear, and rolled over so he was lying on top of her. "Absolutely, one hundred per cent certain."

* * *

><p>Washington was wet. The rain had started the afternoon before, and had not stopped. The water got everywhere, no matter how hard one tried to keep dry. Waterlogged shoppers moved from store to store past the window of the diner, where Booth and Cam sat, enjoying an early cup of coffee.<p>

"So how are you and Brennan?" Cam said, looking at her old friend and sipping her coffee.

"Good," Booth smiled, "Really good. We're going slow, taking it one step at a time."

"And how far along is she?" Cam said casually.

Silence.

Then Booth dropped his coffee cup and swore loudly.

"She told you?" He hissed at Cam, swatting at the coffee on his trousers with a paper napkin.

"She hasn't said a word, but neither of you had to." Cam said calmly. "I've known you for a long time, Seeley, I can tell when you're hiding something. You've got that same wildly happy look on your face that you had when Rebecca was pregnant with Parker, but this time it's about nine times more obvious. You keep checking Dr. Brennan's ok, even though every time you ask, you get the same answer you got about two minutes before."  
>Booth chuckled, realising that his incessant checking up on Brennan was probably very irritating.<p>

"And she's changed. She's always careful now, making sure no one barges into her. She has her hand on her stomach most of the time, and she takes naps now. She never used to take naps."

"I guess not." Booth chuckled quietly again.

"You were going to tell me this when, Seeley?" Cam looked irritated now, and Booth was confused.

"When Brennan wanted to, and not a second before. Her body, her choice, our baby." He said bluntly.

"Fine." Cam sighed. "I've got to get back to the lab, so I'll see you later."  
>"Sure."<br>Cam patted Booth on the shoulder, before walking away.

"I'm happy for you, Seeley, I really am." Cam said very quietly, before moving out into the rain.

* * *

><p><strong>This chapter was short, I know, but I've been busy :P<br>Hope you like it, and next chapter is about EVERYONE finding out... but not the way you'd expect.**

**xox **


	3. The Awkward Three

"Mr. Esters, where did your daughter go to school?" A week later, Booth was sat opposite the father of Allison Esters in the interrogation room at the FBI. Beside him, Sweets stared intently at the man.

"Secton High, and then went on to North Western. She was a bright girl, my Allie." Mr. Esters' voice held the remnants of a Texan drawl, which Booth picked up on, but there was no sadness or grief when he spoke about his daughter.

"And you and Mrs. Esters separated the year before Allie disappeared?"

"That's right. Pearl and I, we'd had a good go at marriage, but we weren't meant to be. She was a lousy wife, and lazy too. Never made dinner properly, never cleaned. We had cleaners and ironing women, and girls to look after Allie went she was a kid. Romance had gone, too."

"It says here in the file, Mr. Esters, that your wife filed for divorce after she found out you were having an affair. Is that correct?" Sweets suddenly cut in.

"That's right. The marriage was a sham, and I needed company. I don't regret it. I just regret not being more careful."

"Ok, well thank you, Mr. Esters, we'll be in touch if we have anymore questions for you." Booth showed Esters out before turning back to Sweets. "So, what do you think?"  
>"He's being honest, but he's hiding something. His nonchalant manner, his open body language – he isn't lying to you when he answers your questions. He just knows you're not asking the right questions."<p>

"Well what are the right questions?" Booth threw up his hands.

"How am I supposed to know, Agent Booth? I'm a psychiatrist, not a mind reader!"

"Come one, Sweets, get your shrinky mojo on!"

"Ok, ok, I'll give it a shot." Sweets knew when to admit defeat. "Try concentrating on that affair. Find out about the woman he was seeing, how long it went on for, where they used to meet – there could be something in that."

"I hate this case!" Booth exclaimed. "It's so… wrong."

"How so, Agent Booth?" Sweets cocked his head to one side.

"Six girls, all of them young and innocent, with their lives ahead of them. All of them slaughtered like pigs, their remains buried without care or love. We ruled out the other parents of the girls, because they all had alibis and their stories match up with their previous ones. Kevin Esters is the only one without an alibi on all the nights the girls were killed. He doesn't even sound like he cares about Allie's death! There's hardly any evidence on the bodies of the victims, and the sixth girl is still unidentified because Bones is off work with morning sickness – I mean the flu…" Booth blushed bright red.

"Morning sickness?" Sweets sprung up. "She's pregnant?"  
>"Keep your voice down already!" Booth growled. "She hasn't told anyone yet. Cam knows because she guessed, and she's letting Bones have some time off work. You had better keep your trap shut!"<p>

"I'm guessing you're not the father, then?" Sweets inquired.

"What?" Booth was stumped for a moment. "Of course I'm the father!"  
>"You just seemed a little jumpy about the matter. So you and Dr. Brennan have been intimate, then?"<br>"Sweets, please tell me I don't have to explain to you where babies come from."

Sweets blushed redder than Booth had.

"Of course not, Agent Booth, but you know what this means. I've got to notify the FBI that you and Dr. Brennan may not be able to work together anymore, if your personal relationship gets in the way."

Booth stopped pacing, and swivelled round.

"What'll it take, Sweets? Hmm? What will it take for you to keep us together?"  
>Sweets pondered for a moment, enjoying the hold he had, and the chance he had to get what he really wanted.<p>

"Compulsory therapy sessions with me, until I say otherwise. Twice a week, all questions answered, every detail open to me."

"Fine." Booth muttered, cursing in his head.

"Very good. I'll notify the bureau this evening. The first session is tomorrow, at three o'clock. Be there, Booth, don't ruin this for her."

* * *

><p>"Good afternoon, Agent Booth, good afternoon, Dr. Brennan."<br>Sweets sat opposite the partners as per usual, and breathed a contented breath. After all the years he had known the pair, watched them skirt around one another and try and find happiness in the solace of others, they were finally here in his office, as a couple and not just a partnership, and willing to divulge the private information he wanted to know.

"I'll spare you an introduction as to why you're here, and jump right in. When was the first time you got together?"  
>Booth went bright red and stared at the floor. Brennan swallowed nervously, and replied<p>

"The night Mr. Nigel-Murray died. The night… Vincent died."

Sweets' eyebrows shot up.

"I see." He scribbled down on his notepad. "The catalyst for your relationship was the death of someone close."

"Well, not really." Brennan said. "A catalyst is a substance that provides an alternative pathway with a lower activation energy for a reaction, and is never used up-" She stopped, looking at the expression on Sweets' face. "You weren't speaking literally…"

"No, Dr. Brennan, I wasn't." Sweets scribbled another thing down on his notepad and looked back up. "How did the incident happen on that-"

Booth jumped up.

"No." He held his hand up. "Stop right there, Sweets, unless you would like me to shoot you in the foot. I agreed to come here to talk, but I will not talk about mine and Bones'… intimate time."

Sweets decided to let that slide for the first session.

"Ok, Agent Booth, we'll move on. Are you keeping the baby?"  
>"Of course." Brennan and Booth said together, before looking at one another in surprise.<p>

"You'll keep the baby and share custody of it." Sweets nodded, blissfully unaware of the real situation.

"Sweets… you do realise Bones and I are together now, don't you? As a couple?"  
>"What?" Sweets sat up, his notepad falling to the floor.<p>

"We're a couple, Sweets. We're working together, shopping for groceries together, doing the cleaning, living together, loving together – all the stuff _couples_ do." Booth put extra emphasis on the word to make it clear.

"I…I didn't… I had no idea…" Sweets blustered.

"What, you just thought Booth and I slept together and didn't decide to continue with anything else?" Brennan asked. She looked affronted, and Booth knew it was the pregnancy hormones talking and not her, but he was quite glad that Sweets was taking the brunt of her displeasure and not him later.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Brennan, I didn't mean that offensively, I just thought-"

"You know what, I think it's best if this session ends now, Dr. Sweets. We'll be back next week only because you're blackmailing us into coming, but I really think it's the right choice to end this here." Brennan said sharply, and stood up.

"Ok, Bones, let's go!" Booth said brightly, steering her towards the door. He turned to close it, and peeped his head round as he did so.

"Sorry, Sweets, it's the hormones" He said smiling, and shut the door.

"Well done, Lance," Sweets muttered angrily, "Well done."

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you liked this chapter – Sweets gets something wrong as per usual!<br>The next chapters are about them finding out more about the case, Brennan and Booth have a fight, and the entire lab finds out about the pregnancy in a less than traditional way.  
>THANK YOU to those who reviewed and subscribed (or whatever the hell it's called)!<br>xox**


	4. Four Minute Fracas

**Chapter Four - PURE FLUFF. FLUFF FLUFF FLUFF FLUFF FLUFF.  
>Hope you enjoy, I liked writing this one. I'd love to hear from you.<br>xox **

It was still raining. The droplets hit the glass roof of the Jeffersonian above Brennan, pattering away and causing her head to ache even more than usual.

"Bones, we've got another floater." Booth swiped his card and headed up the steps onto the forensic platform. Brennan was bent low over the bones of the unidentified victim. They'd worked out how she'd died, where she'd died and when she'd died, but the team still had no idea _who _she was.

"Bones, did you hear me?" Booth looked at her concernedly, but Brennan straightened up and smiled.  
>"Yep, Dr. Brennan, this is your territory." Cam said, checking the body to see the state of decomposition. "It's bone, bone and more bone. Just leave me a sample of any tissue you find. She's all yours."<p>

Cam snapped off her rubber gloves and walked off towards her office, her heels clicking on the hard floor.

Brennan moved slowly over to the body, her stomach churning. She was light headed and every part of her ached.

"Bones, are you alright?" Booth hurried towards her.

"I'm… I'm… I can't, Booth, I've got… There's something…" In her head she was making perfect sense, but her words came out jumbled and wrong. She thrashed out, trying hard to stay upright. Her right hand hit the tray of instruments and they clattered to the floor. She slumped forward onto Booth, catching him unawares, and the he stumbled backwards. His back collided with the gurney on which the body was laid, and the whole thing fell down the steps of the forensic platform and onto the ground.

The lab erupted in a cacophony of noise. The alarm had been set off and was ringing louder and louder and shriller and shriller. Guards shouted and ran over, trying to see what had happened. Hodgins and Wendell shrieked as the body fell to the ground, before rushing to see what had happened. Angela ran out of her office, baby Michael in her arms screaming with all his might.

"What in the world-" Cam hurried out of her office, scanning the scene until her eyes locked onto Booth. He was still struggling with Brennan, preventing her from falling to the ground in her corpse-like state. He slid his hands under her legs, and carried her, like newly wedded husband and wife, into her office.

* * *

><p>"Booth?" Brennan began to stir, and opened her eyes. "Booth?" She called a little louder.<p>

"I'm here, I'm here." Booth's voice was soothing to her aching head and his lips were cool against her feverish brow.

"Where am I, Booth?" Brennan whispered.

"At home. I brought you back here after you collapsed. Angela sat with you when I went to get my things, and the doctor came to see you. You're fine, you've just got a fever and he thinks it's the pregnancy taking its toll a little. Nothing that rest and good food won't cure."

Brennan opened her eyes and focussed. Booth had left the small lamp on in the corner, and it was casting a comforting yellow light around the room. The heavy drapes at the window were drawn, but she could still hear the pattering of the raindrops hitting the glass. The sheets were soft and warm on her skin, and beside her Booth had pulled the leather armchair up to the bed, so that he could sit with her. Brennan could smell the leather of the chair, the dampness of her rain soaked clothes on the clotheshorse, the tang of the Thai takeout that Booth had ordered, and the light musk of his aftershave, clothes detergent and sweat that he always smelled like after a long day.

"Booth, my back aches." Brennan whimpered, hating herself at that moment for being so helpless.

"Come here, Bones." Booth slid onto the bed and settled her between his legs. He rubbed the base of her spine all the way up to her shoulders. It felt good, but the dull ache did not go away.

"No better?" Booth asked. She shook her head.

"Wait there." Booth wriggled out, trying not to hurt her back anymore. He stepped softly towards the ensuite, and from inside Brennan could hear him filling the bath with water.

Booth watched her as he waited for the tub to fill. She was lying so angel-like in bed; her hair was loose and cascaded down her back and on the pillows. Her eyes were staring at the ceiling, the yellow light of the lamp causing them to shimmer bright azure. Her face was bare of make up – for he had removed it earlier – but her cheeks were flushed pink and her skin dewy. Although he said this to himself at least a hundred times a day, he thought she had never looked more beautiful.

"Bones, the tub's full." He walked over to her and helped her out of bed. "Let's see if a nice soak won't get rid of that bad back of yours."

They made their way to the bathroom, Booth's hand around her in case she fell. For once, Brennan did not stop him.

"Bones, let me help you." Booth sat her on the stool near the bath and carefully took off her oversized sweater and jogging pants that he had helped her into earlier. In his head, he began to recite saint after saint, as her pale skin was soft and smooth under his hands.

"Booth, can you get my bra?" Brennan asked shyly, struggling to unhook the clasp.

"Sure, Bones." He swallowed nervously.

His hands shook a little, but he managed to unclasp one piece of turquoise silk from the other. He wrapped a towel around her to keep her warm and protect what little was left of her modesty.

He was always a gentleman. He turned away as he pulled off his own clothes, revealing a chiselled torso that bore the marks of many a battle. His back was covered in scars from bullets, shrapnel and torture.

"Come on, Bones." Booth helped her into the tub and the two of them settled down. She was leant against his chest; he had his hands on her stomach, caressing it.

They were sharing it all. His strong arms made a barrier to the world around her. She could still smell that light musk of his body, and the scent made her giddy with happiness. She relaxed against him, their chests rising and falling in harmony and they breathed.

His heart, however, palpitated as he felt her hot skin against his own. He forgot about St. John, St. Peter and St. Christopher, as he felt her saint seducing body arch against him. He ran his hands over it, marvelling at the curve of her waist and the pearlescent shimmer her skin had beneath the water.

* * *

><p>They would not make love that night. They would wait until the bath water grew lukewarm, and the candles had burned out. They would rise from the water, and he would wrap a towel around the two of them. He'd lead her out of the bathroom, and help her dress. She'd return the favour as best should could. He'd offer her food and drink, and settle her down in bed. She would sleep.<p>

They would not make love that night. He would watch her eyelids flutter in her dreams, as his hand on her stomach rose and fell. He did not need to make love, for the private moment where she had allowed him to see her at her most vulnerable, her tender kiss on his lips before she fell asleep, and the look of burning love in her eyes as they had separated their entangled bodies in the bathtub had been just as good as any night of hedonistic pursuits.


End file.
